From Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia – Portland, Oregon-based hedge fund manager Yusaf Jawed pleaded guilty to 17 counts of mail and wire fraud in a Ponzi scheme that spans several states including Oregon and Washington, according to media reports.

A report by the Seattle Times said that the 44-year-old ex-stockbroker is facing up to six and a half years imprisonment in his sentencing scheduled on June 21.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allan Garten said that Jawed had accepted the court’s order for him to surrender the $6.4m in ill-gotten gains and pay back his investors.

But attorney Michael Esler, who is representing one of Jawed’s victims, said none of the investors are expecting to see the money.

Court records showed that Jawed ran the Ponzi scheme for more than 10 years. However, the crimes to which he pleaded guilty came from investors he took money from between February 2008 and September 2009.

In September 2012, the SEC filed fraud charges against Jawed, alleging that he had used false marketing materials that boasted double-digit returns to lure people to invest their money into several hedge funds that he managed through at least two companies he controlled: Grifphon Asset Management LLC and Grifphon Holdings LLC.